New Mexico adds commitment from international prospect

New Mexico head coach Eric Olen is closing in on completing his first roster as the Lobos’ basketball coach. On Friday, Olen and staff got a commitment from an international forward, Tomislav Buljan.

Buljan becomes the 13th player to commit to New Mexico during the nearly two months that Olen has been leading the program. A veteran of several professional seasons, Buljan has played in both Spain and Croatia and has spent time in the Adriatic League.

A native of Croatia, the 6-foot-8 Buljan was born in November 2002. Buljan played for Croatia’s U20 team in back-to-back years, averaging 16 points and 10 rebounds per game during his seven appearances in 2022-23. This past season, Buljan played for Cedevita Junior in the Croatian Premier League. He averaged 13 points and nine rebounds per game and was a standout on the boards, averaging more than four offensive rebounds per game.

New Mexico has put together its roster in various ways. They’ve added commitments from three high school guards, all of whom had previous connections to the new coaching staff. Jake Hall and Uriah Tenette were both previously signed to play for Olen at UC San Diego, while Sir Marius Jones was committed to play at UC Irvine for assistant coach Michael Wilder, who has since joined Olen’s staff.

Eight of New Mexico’s commitments have come via the transfer portal led by Chris Howell and Milos Vincentic, who followed Olen after playing last season at UC San Diego. New Mexico also secured a significant commitment from junior college standout Antonio Chol, who previously played at Rutgers.

While New Mexico is months away from revealing its 2025-26 basketball schedule, they are expected to play in one of the more competitive multi-team events prior to Thanksgiving. According to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, New Mexico will play in the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, joining Kansas State, Mississippi State and Nebraska.

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